In the operation of modern day construction equipment, reduction of the effort required by the operator to manipulate the various machine implements has been a long standing goal. One known method to accomplish this goal is to replace the normally hydraulically actuated controls with electronic controls. With this change, the amount of effort required by the operator to manipulate the controls is reduced substantially since the operator no longer has to move his controls through extensive linkage mechanisms that ultimately operate against the hydraulic flow forces that exists within the control system. With the reduction in force required to manipulate the controls, a reduction in the size of the components has also been realized. This in turn, allows a change in material from which the components are manufactured. In many instances, the use of non-metallic material has replaced much heavier, more expensive components made from metal. Even with these advancements, the control mechanisms often require additional components to position the control levers and to provide operational detents therefore. These additional components invariably add to the complexity and therefore the cost of the design.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above.